Wharton Conditions

joshhan said:
Hi ya'll. Was planning on a trip down here from Lansdale, PA on Saturday morning. What are the chances it will be OK to ride? Or should I check in later this week?
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Thanks. The current TWC forecast is for rain Friday, all day and all night into Saturday. Unless that forecast changes, Saturday morning is probly best spent on a road bike.
 
Waited until the afternoon to hit up the Orange Trail and conditions were mint. There was one muddy spot and the rest was fast and furious. Thanks for the trail builders there! It was worth the two hour drive there.
 
Stopped in briefly today on the way home to see how things looked. Only covered the first few hundred feet, but all the rain yesterday has drained and looks good. Cleared a few nicks at the start of the loop and left.
 
Thanks to all of you this is a fantastic ride. Nice single track, not too technical. It was great for me. Modest climbs, not a lot of big jumps. Really enjoyable. I am in mediocre shape and my skills are mediocre, so it was perfect. As I've read, it's a lot like Allaire, but less climbing and less technical. Highly recommended for novice riders. I really appreciate all the work you've all done. And the visitor center was open and they had maps. The trails were well marked. I did orange to blue but next time full orange. The guy I met on the trail was helpful. I just can't say enough positive. Great work.
 
Forest fire in Wharton today. Reports are that 100+ acres have burned and that the fire is still being fought. Fire is reported to have started near the Atsion Ranger Station on rt 206 & Quaker Bridge Rd.. Rt. 206 was (is?) closed in that area.
 
As a novice trail guy, can you comment if that means the park is closed? I was planning on riding there tomorrow morning, so am I to assume I need to make alternate plans? Thanks.
 
Call the WSF Batsto office at 609-561-0024 for the official word as to whether it is safe for you to ride the PBT or not.

The WSF is over 120,000 acres large.
The fire is currently reported to be 700+ acres and to the SW of the PBT. Its reported that the Forest Fire Service aggressively fighting it with backburns. I recommend staying out of the way and out of the smoke.
 
Its reported that the fire was 75% contained at 6:00a Friday morning and 100% contained at 1:00p Friday afternoon. I'm guessing that the scenery between the Atsion Ranger Station and Quaker Bridge has changed.
 
Rated it a 2 today, but only based on the few miles I hiked. Pretty dry this afternoon even after the soaking yesterday, but there is still plenty of havoc that was wreaked by the windstorm early in the week. What I walked was definitely rideable, but there are plenty of areas that will require dismounts. Here are a few.
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moray42 said:
Rated it a 2 today, but only based on the few miles I hiked. Pretty dry this afternoon even after the soaking yesterday, but there is still plenty of havoc that was wreaked by the windstorm early in the week. What I walked was definitely rideable, but there are plenty of areas that will require dismounts. Here are a few.
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Wow. Storms definitely did some damage. Add that to the heavy overgrowth that was there in abundance when I rode a few weeks ago and the trail clearly needs a little TLC. Let us know when the next TM is scheduled. Will try to help out.
 
rmap01 said:
Wow. Storms definitely did some damage. Add that to the heavy overgrowth that was there in abundance when I rode a few weeks ago and the trail clearly needs a little TLC. Let us know when the next TM is scheduled. Will try to help out.
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Am planning to get out there this Saturday morning, 7:00 am, meet at the trailhead. Be back before noon. Ride back to the blowdowns past the firetower with the bucksaw-from-hell and the axe. Will keep an eye on the weather forecast and update plans accordingly.
 
The Batsto trails are pretty much close to unridable, with blowdowns blocking the trail most of the way.

I'll be at the trailhead at 7:00 am, Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Then will ride up the trail with saws, axe, and all, with the dreamy rainbow unicorn goal of making the 8 mile blue loop ridable again.

Please c'mon out and help if you are able. Tools, work gloves, and water provided. Helmet required. If you can't make the 7:00 am start time, just head up the trail, we'll likely have some extra tools for you to use in the panniers of my old beater. After heading out at 7:00, we hope to be back in the parking lot before noon.
 
slingblade_uhhuh said:
The Batsto trails are pretty much close to unridable, with blowdowns blocking the trail most of the way.

I'll be at the trailhead at 7:00 am, Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Then will ride up the trail with saws, axe, and all, with the dreamy rainbow unicorn goal of making the 8 mile blue loop ridable again.

Please c'mon out and help if you are able. Tools, work gloves, and water provided. Helmet required. If you can't make the 7:00 am start time, just head up the trail, we'll likely have some extra tools for you to use in the panniers of my old beater. After heading out at 7:00, we hope to be back in the parking lot before noon.
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I love unicorns and rainbows! I should be there with my axe and another saw and wd40. You think 2 cans is nuff?
 
moray42 said:
Rated it a 2 today, but only based on the few miles I hiked. Pretty dry this afternoon even after the soaking yesterday, but there is still plenty of havoc that was wreaked by the windstorm early in the week. What I walked was definitely rideable, but there are plenty of areas that will require dismounts. Here are a few.
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The S Is missin on your dogs cape! He really tore down some of dem dere trees!
 
slingblade_uhhuh said:
The Batsto trails are pretty much close to unridable, with blowdowns blocking the trail most of the way.

I'll be at the trailhead at 7:00 am, Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Then will ride up the trail with saws, axe, and all, with the dreamy rainbow unicorn goal of making the 8 mile blue loop ridable again.

Please c'mon out and help if you are able. Tools, work gloves, and water provided. Helmet required. If you can't make the 7:00 am start time, just head up the trail, we'll likely have some extra tools for you to use in the panniers of my old beater. After heading out at 7:00, we hope to be back in the parking lot before noon.
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Have my doubts on being available Friday, but am planning to be there Saturday and maybe Sunday too. Will also have another small axe and saw.
 
Norm said:
So @moray42 - is this pretty much the death knell to our weekend plans? Fire road alternative?
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As far as trail, probably. Fire road I'm not sure. I believe it is required that stuff get cleared in a relatively timely manner in case a fire occurs. I also saw mudders driving down the road Sunday, and they looked like they had just come from the woods.
@slingblade_uhhuh, did you happen to notice if they cleared the tree on Washington turnpike near the maintenance building? Might be an indication of how things are progressing.
 
moray42 said:
As far as trail, probably. Fire road I'm not sure. I believe it is required that stuff get cleared in a relatively timely manner in case a fire occurs. I also saw mudders driving down the road Sunday, and they looked like they had just come from the woods.
@slingblade_uhhuh, did you happen to notice if they cleared the tree on Washington turnpike near the maintenance building? Might be an indication of how things are progressing.
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Do you mean the fallen tree leaning over the sand road that is pulling down the utility wires that go to the maintenance building? I didn't notice. 🙂
 
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